“Take Our Children to the Park ... And Leave Them There Day.”

The NYTimes Sunday magazine had an interesting article yesterday.  I am adding a link here so that you can read it.

To summarize, Lenore Skenazy, a mother is proposing letting kids play at the park by themselves...saying that crime rates today are similar to the 70s and 80s.  So, if you could do it then, you should be able to do it now.  Of course, Elliot will not be partaking in this proposed holiday.  She is three.  But the premise seems sounds to me.  I remember wandering far and wide sometimes with friends, sometimes on a bike.  Before the advent of cellphones, my parents did not always know where I was, and had few ways of tracking me down. Growing up I was more likely to hear, "Go play outside and be home by dark".  Yet, it feels dangerous to parent that way, thirty years later.

I liked this article because it questions this new norm of (over)parenting.  Good food thought, especially was Elliot gets older and express a need for more freedom. 

In other news,  Happy Birthday Day, Izaak!  May you continue to grow older, so gracefully.  (Don't kill me for the pictures, I couldn't help myself) (Pictures courtesy of Father-Daughter dance troupe)